Napa’s auto row mural comes into focus | Local News | napavalleyregister.com – Napa Valley Register
A 1930 Chrysler Imperial roadster, a ‘41 Town + Country station wagon, a ‘56 DeSoto Firedome hardtop, and a ‘74 Dodge Charger.
These and a handful of other classic cars have landed — larger than life — at Napa’s Chrysler dealership on Soscol Avenue.
Kristina Young
However, they’re not for sale.
A 74-by-13-foot tile mural is being installed on the side of Napa’s new Hanlees Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership at 473 Soscol Ave.
Commissioned by the Gasser Foundation, it celebrates the history of Chrysler car design. The mural, made of thousands upon thousands of 1/2” glass mosaic pieces, was created and designed by Napa artist Kristina Young.
Featuring the classic cars driving along a road inspired by Napa’s Highway 29, she’s named it “On the Road Again.”
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“It’s amazing,” to see the work coming to life on the building, said Young. “This is my home, and I feel proud that I can contribute to the landscape here,” she said. “I’m so grateful.”
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The project was first planned in 2018. At first, Young estimated that she and three other people would need a year to complete the work, which they would do by hand.
And then the COVID pandemic struck.
“The whole thing went on pause,” she explained.
By the time the project resumed, Young’s schedule had changed. She realized that she no longer had a whole year to dedicate to the mosaic.
That’s when Young heard about a company in Boston called Artaic.
Artaic takes art images and translates them into pixels. Robots then assemble custom mosaics, tile by tile, precisely and quickly.
She was initially reluctant to have someone else create the mosaic, not to mention a robot. But after Young and partner Israel Valencia visited the company in-person to see the technology and process, she saw the benefits.
“The more I thought about it, it made sense,” she said. “And it meant I could get it done for Gasser and cheaper and faster.”
The tile mosaic was estimated to cost around $200,000. The artwork is funded by the city’s public art ordinance, which requires that commercial developers dedicate 1% of the project construction costs to public art on their site or to pay the 1% into a public art fund.
Using the Artaic robot system to assemble the tiles into sections meant the cost dropped to an estimated $130,000. That includes materials, production, shipping, and installation.
The robot places each tiny tile into a 12” square grid. Each grid has about 576 tiles in it. Then a sheet of sticky tape is placed on top of the squares. Those squares are then packaged into boxes and shipped to the project site.
Workers then install each grid square into place using regular “thin-set,” a type of tile cement.
By January the tile squares had arrived in Napa and work on the mural began.
Valencia has taken the lead on the installation. He said that reaction to the mural so far has been positive and encouraging. “Every day, we get thumbs-up,” from those passing by, he said. “People are loving it.”
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“It’s been fun,” said Gerry Iuliano, who is helping with installation. “It’s been a very challenging job, but it looks great, and I’m very happy about it.”
There have been a few minor hiccups — for example, a set of tiles getting accidentally placed in the wrong spot. After catching their mistake, the tiles were swapped.
Young said another hiccup involved a quote from Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” that the artist intended to include on the mural. Unfortunately, it would have cost $20,000 to license the lyric from the corporation that owns the rights to the music.
“Obviously, we decided to decline,” using the quote, she said. Instead of the lyric, the mural will feature random musical notes.
While she’s happy with the results, Young said she realizes that not everyone may appreciate or even like her mosaic.
“I don’t expect everybody to love everything I do,” said the artist. “That’s why diversity in public art is so key.”
Young believes that there is room for all types of art and artists in Napa Valley.
“We want to have as many people engaged with art in the community,” she said.
The mural should be finished in the next three to four weeks, said Young. A dedication ceremony will follow.
About the mural
Title: The History of Chrysler Motors: On the Road Again, 2022
Artist: Kristina Young
Location: Hanlees Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Napa, 473 Soscol Ave.
Medium: glass tile mosaic
In 1957, Peter Gasser opened the first car dealership on Soscol Avenue establishing Napa’s “auto row.”
Built two blocks from of the original, the new building’s architecture reflects the original dealership’s ultra-modern design. The distinctive V-shape of the rooflines of both buildings mimic the hemi V8 muscle car engine design introduced in 1955.
The mosaic celebrates the history of Chrysler car design with seven models driving down a two-lane highway: 1924 Chrysler Model 60 (the first Chrysler car produced); 1930 Chrysler Imperial Roadster, Model 70 Convertible; 1936 Chrysler C24 Sedan; 1941 Chrysler Town + Country Station Wagon; 1956 DeSoto Firedome Hardtop; 1972 Chrysler Town + Country Station Wagon; and a 1974 Dodge Charger.
The top right side of the design shows music notes coming from a Firedome Convertible. In the 1955 edition, Chrysler introduced the world’s first transistor car radio as a $150 option. The subsequent popularity of car radios heralded a huge shift in recorded music.
Peter and Vernice Gasser were visionary community leaders and philanthropists, always trying to meet the needs of the community. The Gasser Foundation continues that legacy today.
The artwork was commissioned by The Peter A. & Vernice H. Gasser Foundation, in memory of Peter and Vernice Gasser, and produced with support from Artaic, LLC and Iuliano Construction.
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You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or [email protected]
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